JP2005206312A - Paper feeder and printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply replace a paper feeding roller in a paper feeder of a sheet recording device. <P>SOLUTION: The paper feeder comprises a paper feeding roller portion 3; a driving shaft 23 engaged on a first end side of the paper feeding roller portion 3 and rotating the paper feeding roller 3; an adaptor 21 engaged on a second end side of the paper feeding portion 3, and rotatably supporting the paper feeding roller portion 3 with the driving shaft 23; a coil spring 22 energizing the adaptor 21 to the paper feeding roller portion 3 side; and a holding portion 20 holding the adaptor 21 so as to slide in an axial direction of the driving shaft 23, and provided on a device main body 30. Attaching/detaching of the paper feeding roller portion 3 can be simply carried out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and a printing device used for a printer, an ink jet printer, and the like.

  Conventionally, for example, with the use of a laser printer or the like, the roller surface of the paper feed roller is abraded and the paper feed performance of the paper feed roller is deteriorated. A paper feed problem occurred. In view of this, many sheet recording apparatuses in which the sheet feeding roller is unitized and the sheet feeding roller is replaced have been commercialized.

  Here, a conventional paper feeding apparatus using a replacement type paper feeding roller will be described with reference to FIGS.

  7A is a perspective view of a paper feed roller provided in the paper feed device in the conventional printing apparatus, FIG. 7B is a configuration diagram of the paper feed roller provided in the paper feed device in FIG. 7A, and FIG. c) is a partial sectional view of a paper feed roller provided in the paper feed device of FIG. 7A, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another conventional paper feed device, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the mechanism of the paper feed device of FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another conventional paper feeding device.

  First, the configuration of the paper feed roller and the replacement method will be described.

  In FIG. 7A, reference numeral 501 denotes a paper feed roller unit that cooperates with a separating member (not shown) to feed the paper stored in the paper storage unit one by one. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the paper feed roller unit 501 is composed of a holder 501d, a rubber 501a mounted on the outer periphery of the holder 501d, an adapter 501b movable to the left and right, and an elastic member 501c.

  The sheet feeding roller unit 501 is rotatably supported by a driving shaft 504 for driving transmission supported by a protrusion 502 a provided on the sheet feeding unit 502 and a bearing 503.

  Next, a method for replacing the sheet feeding roller in the conventional sheet feeding unit 502 configured as described above will be described. At the time of replacement, when the paper feed roller unit 501 is moved in the direction of arrow M (direction of the protrusion 502a) shown in FIG. 7B, the elastic member 501c installed inside the paper feed roller unit 501 is compressed and deformed. A gap is formed between the sheet feeding roller unit 501 and the drive shaft 504, and the sheet feeding roller unit 501 can be detached from the sheet feeding unit 502.

Further, there is another structure of the paper feed unit for preventing abnormal noise generated when paper with high smoothness is fed, as shown in FIG. 8, and the structure of this conventional technique will be described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a paper feeding device having a paper feeding roller unit similar to the paper feeding roller unit 501 shown in FIG. 7A. Reference numeral 601 denotes a holder 601b and a rubber attached to the outer periphery of the holder 601b. In a paper feed roller portion composed of a member roller 601a and an elastic member 601c for suppressing vibration, a drive shaft 602 that transmits driving passes through the holder 601b and engages with the holder 601b fixed to the drive shaft 602. Pins 603, a drive gear portion 604 that transmits drive to the drive shaft 602, bearings 605a and 605b that rotatably support the drive shaft 602, and bearings 605a and 605b. It is comprised from the apparatus main body 606 which has a wall in the position near the thickness of the elastic member 601c, and the exterior 607 which covers the drive gear part 604. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, when the paper feed roller portion 601 is attached to the apparatus main body 606, the sponge portion of 601 c provided on the holder 601 b is the side surface 60 of the apparatus main body.
It is configured to prevent the play or the like generated between 1d and the paper feed roller 601.

  Next, a method for replacing the paper feeding roller 601 in the conventional paper feeding apparatus configured as described above will be described. At the time of replacement, the sheet feeding roller unit 601 can be removed by removing the exterior 607 shown in FIG. 8 and then removing the bearings 605a and 605b and the drive gear unit 604 and then removing the drive shaft 602.

  Further, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-294335 discloses a unit in which a sheet feeding unit is exchangeable. FIG. 10 shows a recording medium separating / conveying apparatus 700 in which the paper feeding unit can be replaced. The recording medium separating / conveying device 700 is characterized in that both a pulling roller 701 and a separating / conveying roller 702 are configured to detachably hold a separation roller unit 720 provided on a roller support member 716 to a sheet feeding unit. That is, both the pull-in roller 701 and the separation conveyance roller 702 can be exchanged together with the roller support member 716 only by removing the unit 720.

That is, both the drawing roller 701 and the separation conveying roller 702 are rotatably supported and supported by a pair of left and right roller support members 716 forming a frame of the separation roller unit 720, and are provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus. A support rotation shaft 717 that is driven to rotate by a rotational driving force from a drive source (not shown) is provided, and a transmission belt 718 is stretched between the shafts of the pull-in roller 701 and the separation conveyance roller 702 to support rotation. The rotational driving force of the shaft 717 is transmitted to the rotational shaft of the drawing roller 701, the separation roller unit 720 is constituted by the drawing roller 701, the separation conveying roller 702, the roller support member 716, and the transmission belt 718, and The bearing 702a of the separation conveyance roller 702 is inserted into the support rotation shaft 717, and the separation roller unit 20 is detachably mounted in the direction of the arrow C, which is the direction of the rotation axis, and is held by the sheet feeding unit. The separation roller unit 720 rotates in the direction of the arrow E in order to feed the recording medium P around the support rotation shaft 717. By being moved, the drawing roller 701 is configured to come into contact with and come into contact with the top of the recording medium P on which the drawing rollers 701 are stacked.
JP 2001-294335 A (page 3-4, FIG. 3)

  However, in the conventional paper feeder as shown in FIG. 7B, when the paper feed roller portion 501 is attached to the recording apparatus main body 502, as shown in FIG. There are horizontal gaps S between 501b and between the holder 501d and the drive shaft 504 (not shown). For this reason, when a highly smooth sheet is fed, the sheet feeding roller unit 501 vibrates and noise is generated.

  Further, in the conventional paper feeding apparatus as shown in FIG. 8, since the work is complicated for a general user in order to perform the work of replacing the paper feeding roller, it is necessary to deal with service personnel. Furthermore, since it is necessary to mount the pin 603 on the drive shaft 602, it is necessary to process a thin hole in the drive shaft 602, which has a problem that the manufacturing cost increases.

  Furthermore, in the conventional paper feeding apparatus as shown in FIG. 10, when a roller unit in which the paper feeding unit is integrally formed is configured as a replacement member, that is, a consumable, some parts are still in a usable state. Even in such a case, there is a problem that the unit must be replaced in a lump, and the number of parts of the unit increases and the replacement unit becomes expensive.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and by eliminating the shakiness of the paper feed roller unit, the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed and the paper feed roller unit can be easily replaced with a small number of parts. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeding device and a printing device that can perform printing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a paper feed roller that feeds paper, a drive shaft that is provided in the main body of the apparatus and engages with one end of the paper feed roller, and rotates the paper feed roller. A support member that engages with the other end of the roller and rotatably supports the paper feed roller together with the drive shaft, an elastic member that biases the support member toward the paper feed roller, and a support member that can slide in the axial direction of the drive shaft And a holding member provided on the apparatus main body for holding. With this structure, the supporting member is slid in the axial direction of the drive shaft against the urging force of the elastic member, so that the paper feeding roller is moved to the apparatus. It can be easily detached from the main body, and the support member is always urged toward the paper feed roller by the elastic member, thereby eliminating the noise of the paper feed roller and preventing the generation of noise. Paper feeding device and Printing device is obtained.

  According to the present invention, a paper feed roller that feeds paper, and engages with one end side of the paper feed roller, and engages with a drive shaft that rotates the paper feed roller and the other end side of the paper feed roller. A support member that rotatably supports the paper feed roller together with the drive shaft, an elastic member that biases the support member toward the paper feed roller, and the support member is slidably held in the axial direction of the drive shaft. A holding portion provided in the apparatus main body, so that the paper feed roller is detachably attached via the support member, and the side of the paper feed roller portion is pressed by the support member and the elastic member, thereby feeding the paper. It is possible to suppress the rattling of the roller portion, to suppress abnormal noise when feeding highly smooth paper, and to easily replace the paper feed roller.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a paper feed roller that feeds paper, a drive shaft that engages with one end of the paper feed roller and rotates the paper feed roller, and the other end of the paper feed roller Main body that engages the side and rotates and supports the paper feed roller together with the drive shaft, an elastic member that biases the support member toward the paper feed roller, and the support member slidably held in the axial direction of the drive shaft A holding unit provided on the support unit, wherein the feed roller unit is detachably supported via the support member, so that the feed roller unit can be easily replaced and the support member; By pressing the side surface of the paper feed roller portion with the elastic member, there is an effect that shakiness of the paper feed roller portion can be suppressed.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is the sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the support member is provided with an elastic engagement portion that engages with the holding portion and locks the support member to the holding portion. Since the biasing force of the paper feed roller is locked by the elastic engagement part of the support member, the paper feed roller is attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus, so it is easy to replace the paper feed roller with a small number of parts. It has the effect that it can be performed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the holding portion has a guide groove portion that guides the elastic engagement portion, and elastically engages with an end portion of the guide groove portion on the paper feed roller side. A sheet feeding device provided with a first locking portion that engages with a portion and locks a support member, wherein the elastic engagement portion is guided in a direction opposite to the urging force of the elastic member of the support member. Therefore, the sheet feeding roller can be detachably supported via the support member, and the sheet feeding roller can be easily replaced.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is the sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the guide groove portion has a length for guiding a part of the slide region by the holding portion of the support member. By favorably guiding the portion in the direction of the urging force of the elastic member of the support member, the sheet feed roller can be detachably supported via the support member, and the sheet feed roller can be easily replaced.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the holding portion is provided at a position separated from the paper feed roller from the first locking portion for locking the elastic engagement portion. In the sheet feeding device provided with the second locking portion, the elastic engagement portion is guided in a direction opposite to the urging force of the elastic member of the support member to lock the pressing of the support member. The sheet feeding roller is detachably supported via the support member, and the sheet feeding roller can be easily replaced.

  The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is the sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring-shaped member. By applying a pressing force to the side surface, there is an effect that the feed roller portion is free from rattling and the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed roller for feeding paper, a printing unit for printing on paper fed by the paper feed roller, and one end side of the paper feed roller provided in the apparatus main body. A drive shaft that rotates the paper feed roller, a support member that engages with the other end of the paper feed roller and supports the paper feed roller together with the drive shaft, and a support member attached to the paper feed roller side. A printing apparatus having an elastic member to be urged and a holding portion provided in an apparatus main body for slidably holding the support member in the axial direction of the drive shaft, wherein the paper feed roller is detachable via the support member It has an effect that it can be supported and the paper feed roller portion can be easily replaced.

  The invention according to claim 8 of the present invention is the sheet feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the support member is provided with an elastic engagement portion that engages with the holding portion and locks the supporting member to the holding portion. Since the biasing force of the paper feed roller is locked by the elastic engagement part of the support member, the paper feed roller is attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus, so it is easy to replace the paper feed roller with a small number of parts. It has the effect that it can be performed.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the eighth aspect of the present invention, the holding portion has a guide groove portion for guiding the elastic engagement portion, and elastically engages with an end portion of the guide groove portion on the paper feed roller side. A printing apparatus provided with a first locking portion that engages with a portion and locks a support member, wherein the elastic engagement portion is guided in a direction opposite to the urging force of the elastic member of the support member. Since the pressing is locked, the sheet feeding roller can be detachably supported via the support member, and the sheet feeding roller can be easily replaced.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the guide groove portion has a length for guiding a part of the slide region by the holding portion of the support member, and the elastic engagement portion. Is favorably guided in the direction of the urging force of the elastic member of the support member, so that the paper feed roller is detachably supported via the support member, and the paper feed roller can be easily replaced.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the eighth or ninth aspect, the holding portion is provided at a position separated from the paper feed roller from the first locking portion for locking the elastic engagement portion. In the printing apparatus having the second locking portion, the elastic engagement portion is guided in the direction opposite to the urging force of the elastic member of the support member to lock the pressing of the support member. The sheet feeding roller is detachably supported via the, so that the sheet feeding roller can be easily replaced.

  A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to the seventh aspect, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring-shaped member, and the pressing force is applied to the side surface of the paper feed roller by the elastic member and the support member. As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to eliminate the rattling of the paper feed roller section and to suppress the generation of abnormal noise.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a configuration diagram of a printing apparatus including a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a paper feeding roller unit in the paper feeding device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a paper feeding device of FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the paper feed roller unit in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is an enlarged configuration diagram of the paper feed roller unit in the paper feed device of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the adapter unit in the paper feed roller unit of FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an adapter unit when a paper feeding roller unit is removed.

  First, in FIG. 1, a sheet 2 set in a cassette 1 of a sheet storage unit is separated one by one by a sheet feeding roller unit 3 and a separation pad 4 which will be described later, and a sheet conveyance composed of a conveyance roller 5, a registration roller 6, and the like. And reaches a position facing the photosensitive drum 7 as a recording unit. A latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 7 by the laser writing device 8, the latent image is visualized with toner by the developing device 9, transferred onto the paper 2 by the transfer roller 10, and then conveyed to the fixing device 11. To fix the visible toner image. Thereafter, the sheet 2 is discharged to a discharge tray 13 through a discharge roller 12. On the other hand, in the case of double-sided printing, when the paper 2 is on the paper discharge roller 12, the paper discharge roller is rotated in the reverse direction, and the paper 2 is conveyed again to the registration roller 6 by the conveyance rollers 14 and 15, Perform printing. When the paper 2 is thick paper, the paper is fed from the manual feed guide 16 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 17.

  Next, the mechanism of the paper feed roller unit 3, the attachment method, and the removal method will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 2, a paper feed roller unit 3 cooperates with an opposingly arranged separation pad 4 (shown in FIG. 1) to feed paper 2 stored in the cassette 1 while separating it one by one. The holder 3b has a paper feed roller 3a made of a rubber member fixed to the outer periphery.

In FIG. 3, a drive shaft 23 (described later) is inserted into one end side of the holder 3b, and a hole 3c for transmitting a rotational driving force from the drive shaft 23 is formed. This hole 3c is cut into the shape of a letter D according to the shape of the insertion portion of the drive shaft. Accordingly, the driving force can be reliably transmitted to the paper feed roller unit 3, and the paper feed roller unit 3 can be rotationally driven without rattling. In FIG. 4, an engaging portion 3 d that engages an adapter 21 described later is formed on the end side opposite to the one end side where the drive shaft 23 is inserted. Reference numeral 21 denotes an adapter as a support member that engages with an engaging portion 3 d formed on the holder 3 b of the paper feed roller portion 3 to rotate and hold the paper feed roller portion 3 together with the drive shaft 23. The adapter 21 has a hole 21c that engages with the engaging portion 3d. The engaging portion 3d has a shape protruding from the holder 3b and is held by being inserted into the hole portion 21c. The adapter 21 is formed with a latching projection 21a as an elastic engagement portion on the outer peripheral portion thereof, and the holding unit 20 provided on the paper feeding device 30 side guides the latching projection 21a to adapt the adapter 21. The guide 21 is slidably held in the axial direction of the drive shaft 23, and the adapter 21 is also slidably held in the axial direction of the drive shaft 23 by the guide hole 26. Further, since the latching protrusion 21a has an elastic shape, when the adapter 21 is attached to the guide hole 26, it can be easily inserted into the guide hole 26 by elastic deformation. The guide groove 26a is formed to have a length shorter than the slide region of the adapter 21, and is a length that allows the guide of the latching protrusion 21a to be released halfway by the slide of the adapter 21. Further, the paper feed roller 3 side of the guide groove 26a is predetermined when the adapter 21 is urged by a coil spring 22 as an elastic member that urges the adapter 21 in the arrow H direction (direction of the paper feed roller 3). As described above, the first locking portion 26b that engages and locks with the latching protrusion 21a is formed so as not to slide toward the drive shaft 23 side. That is, the adapter 21 is reliably engaged with the drive shaft 23 and the holder 3b by being pressed toward the drive shaft 23 by the urging force of the coil spring 22 in a state where the paper feed roller unit 3 is attached. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the drive shaft 23 is rotatably supported and fixed to the sheet feeding device 30 by bearings 24 and 25, and driving is transmitted from the sheet recording apparatus main body drive unit by the drive gear 27 to feed the sheet. The roller unit 3 is rotated to feed the paper 2.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the adapter 21 of the sheet feeding device. As described above, the adapter 21 is formed with the latching protrusion 21a, and is guided by the guide groove 26a provided in the guide hole 26. The adapter 21 is prevented from rotating.

  Here, a method of removing the paper feed roller unit 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When removing the paper feed roller unit 3, the paper feed roller unit 3 (shown in FIG. 4) is slid in the direction of arrow A against the urging force of the coil spring 22. As a result, the adapter 21 slides together with the paper feed roller unit 3 while the latching projection 21a is guided by the guide groove 26a. Thereafter, after the latching protrusion 21a of the adapter 21 is slid to a position where it is disengaged from the guide of the guide groove 26a, when the paper feed roller 3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow B, the latching protrusion 21a is first locked. 4b is temporarily fixed to the second locking portion 26c provided in the guide hole portion 26 at a position away from the paper feed roller portion 3 from the portion 26b, and as a result, between the holder 3b and the drive shaft 23 shown in FIG. A gap is formed, and the paper feed roller unit 3 can be easily removed.

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and a printing device used in a printer, an ink jet printer, and the like.

1 is a configuration diagram of a printing apparatus including a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet feeding roller unit in the sheet feeding device of FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a paper feed roller portion in the paper feed device of FIG. FIG. 1 is an enlarged configuration diagram of a sheet feeding roller unit in the sheet feeding device of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the adapter section in the paper feed roller section of FIG. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the adapter section when the paper feed roller section of Fig. 5 is removed. (A) A perspective view of a paper feed roller provided in a paper feed device in a conventional printing apparatus, (b) a configuration diagram of a paper feed roller provided in the paper feed device of (a), and (c) a paper feed device of (a). Partial sectional view of the paper feed roller A perspective view showing another conventional paper feeder FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the mechanism of the paper feeding device. Diagram showing another conventional paper feeder

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Paper feed roller part 3a Paper feed roller 3b Holder 20 Holding | maintenance part 21 Adapter 21a Latching projection part 22 Coil spring 23 Drive shaft 26a Guide groove part 26b First latching part 26c Second latching part 27 Drive gear 30 Paper feeding device

Claims (12)

A paper feed roller that feeds paper, and engages with one end of the paper feed roller, rotates a paper feed roller, engages with the other end of the paper feed roller and A support member that rotates together with the drive shaft, an elastic member that urges the support member toward the paper feed roller, and an apparatus main body that holds the support member slidably in the axial direction of the drive shaft. And a holding unit. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein an elastic engaging portion that engages with the holding portion and locks the supporting member to the holding portion is provided on the supporting member. The holding portion includes a guide groove portion that guides the elastic engagement portion, and engages the elastic engagement portion with an end portion of the guide groove portion on the paper feed roller side to lock the support member. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein a locking portion is provided. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the guide groove portion has a length that guides a part of a slide region by the holding portion of the support member. The said holding | maintenance part provided the 2nd latching | locking part provided in the position away from the said paper feeding roller from said 1st latching | locking part which latches the said elastic engagement part. The sheet feeding device according to 3 or 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring-shaped member. A paper feed roller that feeds the paper, a printing unit that prints on the paper fed by the paper feed roller, and an end of the paper feed roller that is provided in the apparatus body and engages the paper feed roller. A drive shaft that rotates, a support member that engages with the other end of the paper feed roller and rotationally supports the paper feed roller together with the drive shaft, and an elastic member that biases the support member toward the paper feed roller. And a holding portion provided in an apparatus main body for holding the support member slidably in the axial direction of the drive shaft. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an elastic engagement portion that engages with the holding portion and locks the support member to the holding portion is provided on the support member. The holding portion has a guide groove portion that guides the elastic engagement portion, and engages the elastic engagement portion with an end portion of the guide groove on the paper feed roller side to lock the support member. The printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a locking portion is provided. The printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the guide groove portion has a length that guides a part of a slide region by the holding portion of the support member. The holding portion has a structure having a second locking portion provided at a position separated from the paper feed roller from the first locking portion for locking the elastic engagement portion. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the elastic member is a coil spring-shaped member.

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